Treat You Better
by SamanthaPearlzz
Summary: This is a story of betrayal, hurt and most importantly finding love, even when the circumstances are hard. Ash isn't sure what love is, and is pretty sure it doesn't exist. But when he witnesses Dawn being hurt, he can't help but feel pain for her as well. A pearshipping fic based on "Treat You Better" by Shawn Mendes. Also, my first pearlshipping one shot!


**MY FIRST PEARLSHIPPING ONE SHOT OH MAH GAWD**

 **Go on youtube or whatever and listen to "Treat you better" by Shawn Mendes. :D I got inspiration from that song to write this! I hope ya'll enjoy.**

* * *

Ash Ketchum never necessarily believed in love. In fact, he regarded the very idea of love to be superficial and something that seemed artificial in movies and books.

Love didn't exist in his family. When he was just two years old, his father had ditched his mother and married another woman. His mother, Delia, had been heartbroken when she had found out he betrayed her trust. Ash had grown up without a fatherly presence and had been living with his mother ever since. He didn't know much about his father, but the very thought of his father cheating on his mother was more than enough to hate his father with a burning flame.

When Ash was in his freshman year of high school, he had briefly dated one girl he had met in his Biology class. He didn't know why he developed an interest in her; she was extremely temperamental, demanding and slightly annoying. Plus, Misty always yelled at him for the most ridiculous things. They had dated for only two weeks when he found out that Misty had slept with Gary. Ash was _pissed_ , not because Misty had cheated on him, but because Gary, his best friend at the time _knew_ he was dating Misty but yet went behind his back and betrayed him like that.

He no longer was friends with Gary and he remembered telling Misty to go fall in a ditch and go to hell, but she had only smirked in response. He never thought Misty would turn out to be a slut. He questioned what he ever saw in Misty.

Currently sixteen years old and a junior in high school, Ash walked into the familiar high school building and walked into his first class; English. English was probably his best subject, it was a class where he could express his feelings by writing.

He looked around the classroom for a brief second, noticing Gary on the far end. And yes, to this day, Gary and Misty were still in a supposed relationship. Oh, who was he kidding? Gary was probably Misty's bed buddy. He rolled his eyes at the thought, knowing it was probably true.

More students piled into the classroom and soon enough, Mr. Herman walked in and motioned for everyone to settle down. "Good morning class, isn't it a wonderful Monday so far?" Ash silently scoffed to himself. He was pretty sure everyone _hated_ Mondays, including himself. Everyone just stayed silent, looking at the blonde haired man with a 'WTF' face. "Well anyways, today we're going to be pairing up with someone to do an English project that is due next month." As if on cue, everyone groaned. "I'm glad to see your excitement, guys," he said sarcastically.

 _Fuck,_ Ash thought. It was barely 8 am on a Monday morning, and a project was already dumped on him. He hated projects as well. It didn't make sense because he'd always end up doing all the work anyway, because he was always paired up with a lazy sloth.

"This project is worth about thirty percent of your grade so I suggest you take out time to complete it. Your task is to write a biography-meaning the life of your partner. And you are going to to read it in front of class. See, simple enough, isn't it?"

"Can we at least choose our partner?" Ash asked. "Last time I was paired with someone and I did all the work."

Mr Herman chuckled. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. But, no I can't allow you to choose your partner, that's too easy. But if your partner isn't cooperating, feel free to tell me and I'll gladly change your partner." he explained. Ash nodded in agreement, figuring he would work with his terms.

For the next ten minutes, students were being paired up and were told to discuss their project for the rest of the period. Ash was paired up with someone named Dawn Berlitz. The name didn't seem familiar to him, and so he was eyeing around the classroom looking like a lost puppy.

He didn't notice a blunette come over to his direction until she spoke, "Hey you're Ash right?" she asked, and Ash simply nodded.

"Dawn, right?"

"Yuperdoodles!" she replied cheerfully, taking a seat beside him.

Ash raised an eyebrow. What the hell did she just say? "...What?" he looked at her as if she had grown two heads.

Dawn giggled in response. "It just means 'yup'." She then took out her binder, a notebook and a pen and placed them on her desk. It was then that Ash noticed to himself that he had never seen this girl around before.

Ash cleared his throat. "Are you new here?"

"What do you mean?"

"I've never seen you before."

Dawn raised an eyebrow. "I've been in some of your classes since freshman year."

Ash paled. Well he couldn't really be blamed. Ever since he and Gary had stopped being friends, he didn't really associate with others much. It was hard enough to just go and barge into a social group and be friends with them immediately; he was a bit socially awkward. It was a bit pathetic now that he thought about it, but he'd rather have no friends at all than having a friend that would only betray him.

Ash cleared his throat. "So anyway, you're not going to leave me to do all the work for this project right?"

Dawn shook her head. "Hell no, I would never do that. I want a grade and a good one at that," she said. Ash smiled slightly before he picked up a pen.

* * *

For the rest of the period, Ash and Dawn had been exchanging random facts about each other, each of them writing it down in their notebooks. Unfortunately, the bell had rung signalling the end of the period. They hadn't gathered enough information to write a biography, which is why they planned to meet during lunch.

Ash glanced in the notebook, looking at the information he had so far.

 _Dawn Berlitz. Sixteen years old. Grew up in Twinleaf Town but moved to Lumoise, Kalos when she was eleven. Only child. Favorite colour is pink, but sometimes purple. Loves clothes shopping, music and candy._

He closed the notebook. Yeah, he undoubtedly needed more for this project.

He was currently in his second period for the day: AP Chemistry. He despised this class for two reasons; One, both Misty and Gary were in this class and two, chemistry was his worst class, contrary to English.

Gary and Misty walked in class, hand in hand and Ash tried his best to just ignore them. The couple walked and sat down at the back of the class, where they'd probably make out until the teacher came in.

Ms Lopez eventually walked in, looking bored as always, as she set a stack of papers on her desk. She adjusted her glasses and then started to pass out the papers when she noticed an uncomfortable noise coming from the back of the classroom. "Gary and Misty, this is a school not your bedroom. Get back to your seats and stop making out."

While Ash rolled his eyes, most of of the guys looked back and made some perverted comments.

"Ayyyy!"

"Get some, Gary!"

"I'd totally hit that if she wasn't taken."

Ash grew disgusted, and stood up from his seat. He asked to be excused, and walked out of the classroom. Now there was a third reason he hated his Chemistry class: It was full of horny idiots.

He made his way to the boys' bathroom and he walked up to the sink, proceeding to wash his hands. Then he looked at his reflection in the mirror. His black raven hair was a mess and he looked unusually tired. He escaped a slight yawn before he heard a toilet flush.

One of the bathroom stalls opened, and a guy with plum hair approached one of the sinks. Ash had seen him around but couldn't really put a finger on his name. Ash only shrugged to himself before walking out.

He was slightly surprised when he noticed Dawn walking of the girls' bathroom, and he was pretty sure he heard her sniffle a few times. She was walking the other way when Ash called out to her. "Dawn?"

The blunette stilled but then turned around after a bit of hesitation. "Oh...hey, Ash," she said softly. Ash took notice of her red eyes; he was sure that she had been crying.

"What happened?" he asked curiously. It wasn't any if his business if she was crying, so why he asked, he wasn't sure.

Before Dawn could reply, a rough body embraced her from behind. Ash recognized the plum haired guy from the bathroom. Dawn turned around to look into his onix eyes. "Hey Paul." she smiled before they shared a kiss.

So that was his name. And apparently, Paul was Dawn's boyfriend.

They released before Paul looked at Dawn, and then glanced at Ash. His onix eyes grew a bit dark. "Who's that?"

Ash blinked. Dawn turned around before looking at Paul again. "His name's Ash. We were paired up for an English project together." Ash noticed her voice was starting to shake, and he looked at Paul as he glared at Ash.

"I hope you don't plan on doing anything else other than the project with him," he said, his eyes darkening and Dawn found his hand gripping on her wrist tightly. Ash rolled his eyes, not noticing Dawn's wrist redden just a little.

"I don't plan to steal your girl man," Ash said.

"Was I talking to you?" Paul replied harshly.

Ash raised an eyebrow, unfazed. What the hell kinda boyfriend was he? "Let's go Dawn, we have a class that we're late for," he said, walking away with Dawn following from behind. To Ash's surprise, Dawn looked back at him, her blue sapphire eyes piercing into his brown eyes just for a brief second before she walked forward again.

Ash parted his lips when he saw a saddened look in her eyes.

* * *

It was lunch when Ash met up with Dawn again. He found her eating alone, until he took a deep breath and walked up to her with a tray in his hand. He sat down beside her, and Dawn flinched slightly. "Don't do that!" she exclaimed, looking at Ash accusingly.

Ash raised an eyebrow. All he did was sit next to her. "I'm sorry?" he said a bit questioningly. Dawn shook her head in disapproval before she continued eating. "You never told me you had a boyfriend."

 _What the actual fuck? She didn't need to tell you, dick for brains,_ his voice mocked him. Ash was surprised when she replied. "It never came up." she shrugged. "But if you really wanna know, Paul's been my boyfriend since sophomore year."

Ash nodded. "Well, that's some boyfriend you have."

"What do you mean by that? Paul's a great guy and a great boyfriend." Dawn retorted a bit angrily as she opened a bag of chips. Ash noticed she had a big appetite.

"I never said he wasn't," Ash countered.

Dawn blinked before recomposing herself. "Let's just continue working on the project," she suggested. Ash simply nodded before he took out a pen and his notebook. He remained in silent before he noticed her wrist. Four red finger imprints were visible on her wrist, and Ash widened his eyes.

Unconsciously, he took Dawn's hand in his and the blunette slightly widened his eyes when she saw Ash examining her wrist. He looked at her. "Who did this?" he asked, even though he had a slight hunch of who it could be.

She hesitated to answer, but took her hand back from him and then replied, "No one. It's none of your business."

Ash grew slightly irritated. "It was Paul, wasn't it?" he asked. Dawn gulped to herself, and didn't respond but then stuffed a handful of chips into her mouth. Her silence gave him his answer.

"Dawn, you don't have to put up with this. You can-"

"Ash please," she interrupted. "Look, it's my battle and I'll deal with it myself. We have to work on our project, I wouldn't want you to do it on your own."

Ash found himself frowning. But she was right. Whether Paul was abusing her or not, what right did he have to meddle? He barely knew Dawn, and it wasn't any of his business.

So then why was he constantly glancing at her wrist and silently cursing Paul in his mind?

* * *

Ash found himself lying down on his bed in deep thought. His mind constantly flashed back to Dawn. Her wrist, her shaken up voice and her saddened look in her eyes just made his stomach churn and he groaned to himself.

He knew Dawn was hurt, but then he remembered Dawn's words. He had no business to meddle between the two of them.

He looked at the door when he heard a knock. "Come in," he said, and the door opened to reveal Delia. She gave him a loving smile. "Hey mom."

"Ash, someone's here to see you."

Ash looked confused for a second or two before he jumped out of his bed and walked downstairs, his mothet following him from behind. The raven haired boy stopped himself short when he saw the familiar blunette right there in his doorway.

"Dawn?" he called once he approached her.

She gave him a small smile. "Yuperdoodles! I thought we could continue working on our English project. Oh and if you're wondering how I found your address, well...that's a secret." she winked. Ash chuckled a bit before his mom came up towards them.

"Dawn, right?" Delia asked. Dawn nodded in response. "So nice to meet you, Dawn. Come on in," she gestured for the blunette to enter and she walked in before sitting down on one of the leather couches. "Well, I would talk more but I need to get to work, is that okay Dawn?"

Dawn smiled. "Of course, Ms. Ketchum. No need to worry."

"You be on your best behaviour, young man," Delia said, her eyes narrowing her eyes towards Ash. Dawn giggled while Ash rolled his eyes.

After a couple of minutes, Delia had left the two alone. Ash was seated awkwardly on the right side of the couch while Dawn was seated on the other leather couch, looking at her feet. Ash had never been alone with a girl in his house before. Sure, when he was dating Misty, but she had never been to his place before. "So," he said awkwardly, and Dawn looked up at him, "Why don't we get started?"

Dawn smiled. "Okay," she nodded before she stood up and walked over to the dinng table and Ash did the same.

"What do you have so far?" he asked.

Dawn turned a page in her notebook and read aloud, "Ash Ketchum. Sixteen years old, standing at 5 feet 8 inches. Living with his single mother in Lumouse, Kalos where he was born. Favorite color: Black. A nice guy but kinda annoying sometimes when he's trying to intrude in my life."

Ash could only escape a small laugh. "Sorry you felt that way."

Dawn laughed. "I was kidding, I'm going to change that last bit," she said grabbing a pen, scratching the last sentence out. "I do need more information though, this isn't enough for a biography."

"Well, I suppose I could tell you that when I was two, my dad walked out on us and married another woman. I've been living with my mom ever since."

Dawn straightened her lips into a thin line. "Sorry to hear that," she said apologetically. Ash shrugged in response as she wrote that piece of information down. "What else?"

Ash rubbed his chin, his mind running with thoughts. "Hm, when I was seven, I was playing on the monkey bars when I suddenly fell on my head." Dawn gasped, but Ash only laughed, thinking it was nothing. "I had a severe concussion and I was in the hospital for days. I was nearly going to die; my mom thought so too. But luckily, I made it out alive."

"Wow," Dawn commented, making a note.

"Yup...erdoodles." Ash grinned. Dawn laughed when she heard that escape from Ash's lips. "So, let's hear from you now."

Dawn bit her lip in response, nodding before she started to speak. "Well, my dad died when I was three so I don't really remember my father. When I was around six years old, I remember my favorite outdoor activity was running around in the rain and jumping around in the mud." Dawn giggled at the memory.

Ash seemed bewildered. "You mean like a pig?" he quickly covered his hand with a palm. _Idiot, you just called her a pig._

But she just laughed. "Yeah, I was a weird little girl. But if there's anything more enjoyable, it's spending time with my mom. I consider her to be my best friend. I always shared everything with her, and I still do now."

"That's good." Ash commented. He noticed that he and Dawn had a bit in common. Both of them were struggling without a father, and found relief with their mother. He smiled at the thought.

* * *

A half hour passed, and both Dawn and Ash had around two pages of information about each other. They both shared little, but interesting pieces of information, and both of them had to admit that they were having a pretty good time working together. Ash had found himself intrigued, and for some reason, he wanted to know more.

"Do you like video games?" he suddenly asked when Dawn was beginning to pack. The blunette stopped herself short.

"Yeah, why?"

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "I was wondering if you'd like to play a game or two," he said, motioning over to the Wii game console. Dawn looked at the time. It was barely 7'o'clock, and she smiled in agreement with the idea

"Sure. What games do you have? If you got Mario Kart, I'm in."

Ash chuckled before taking out the game disk and inserting into the console. "I suppose you're gonna say you're good at this game?"

She winked in response before grabbing a wii remote. "Only the very best."

"We'll see."

...

Ash threw the wii remote against the bed roughly. "How are you beating me ten times in a row?" he looked at her astonishingly, and Dawn held back her laughter. "Cheater."

"Hm, jealous are we?" she teased in response.

Without any warning, Ash tackled Dawn, pinning her to the bed, as his hands firmly grabbed her wrists. Dawn squealed in response. "Ash get off me!" she yelled playfully, but Ash only continued his torments as he decided to tickle her sides, resulting in her squirming. "Aaah! Ash, staahhpp!" she said, in between laughing, and Ash didn't stop but only laughed as he thought how adorable she looked.

She continued laughing and squirming until he look at her exposed sides and a part of her stomach. He stopped, and Dawn was breathing heavily now. He gently pulled her top up just a tad lighter, and Dawn clenched her eyes shut. He gasped when he saw various red imprints on the lower part of her stomach. "Dawn..." he breathed. He couldn't believe she was tolerating this. "What happened to you?"

Dawn sat upright on the bed, her top covering her stomach again. "I-its nothing."

"It's not nothing, Dawn. Paul is _abusing_ you, and it's not cool. Why are you letting him do this to you?"

Dawn looked the other direction, not being able to face Ash. She sighed to herself, as if she was having a battle to herself. Dawn felt Ash's hand cupping her cheek, forcing her to look at him. "You deserve so much better, Dawn."

A tear formed in Dawn's eye and without warning, fell onto her cheek. Ash's swore his heart fell when he saw the tear and he reached out to wipe it away. Dawn had shaky breaths, as more tears escaped her eyes. Ash wanted to wipe them all away; he wanted to lessen the pain. So he did what he could think of at the moment.

He reached out and hugged her tightly. Dawn stiffened for a while, before she relaxed and closed her eyes, letting Ash embrace her. She brought his hands around his neck, and Ash's warm arms were encircled around her tiny waist. Dawn had never felt so protected and so safe before.

When they released, Ash looked into Dawn's eyes yet again. The blunette let out the biggest grin he had ever seen, and he smiled as his heart did a somersault.

He didn't want it to happen; he didn't think it could happen but it _did._ He was already falling for her.

* * *

A week passed since Dawn had visited Ash at his house. Ever since Dawn had been paired up with Ash, she couldn't stop thinking about him. Spending time with him made her forget everything.

Dawn turned around lying flat on her stomach, as she sighed. Times were good before. She remembered when she first saw Paul; he was sitting alone in the library and she was looking for a good book to read. It was him that had helped her out and soon enough, the two became fast friends. It was only a matter of time before he had asked her out to which Dawn had obviously agreed to.

They were so in love. Or at least, that's what Dawn thought.

Their relationship was blossoming for only a short while before Dawn had noticed Paul growing distand and cold. He started to get irritated for the slightest of things and his anger now controlled him. Dawn gave him lots of chances; multiple opportunities to change his demeanor...but he couldn't.

Soon enough a year passed, and Paul only became worse. He started to grow abusive.

Dawn recalled when he had first slapped her across the face. She was shocked and angry, but then he had _threatened_ her. He'd kill her if she told anyone or reported him to the police.

Now, Paul took her fear for advantage. Dawn remembered catching a ride home with one of her guy friends, Drew. The very same day, Paul had barged into her house and didn't hesitate to hit her bare stomach, wrists and whatever skin he could find with a belt. Dawn had remembered being curled up onto the floor, crying vigorously and bled severely.

She knew she should have done something; but she was literally so scared to fight back.

She tried to hide it all; the pain, the suffering, the agony. She didn't want anyone to know.

And then Ash appeared.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when she heard a doorbell. Flinching, she ran downstairs and first peeked through the door hole. She gulped.

It was Paul.

She stepped back slightly, biting her lip. Her heart was already accelerating in fear. She jumped when she started to hear banging against the door, followed by Paul's harsh voice. "DAWN! Open up, I know you're here!"

Dawn sighed as she reluctantly opened the door, and immediately Paul forcefully grabbed her by the back of her neck, and she escaped a startled gasp. "Where the hell were you?!"

Dawn fumbled. "B-bathroom," she said weakly.

"Don't lie, bitch," he said, forcefully pushing her back and Dawn hit her back against the table. "Why were you at Ash's place last week?"

Dawn managed to get up, but she stood wobbily on her legs. "W-we were working on an English project, I told you about this before."

Paul approached the blunette again and this time, grabbed the front of her neck, resulting in Dawn starting to choke. "I hope so. You'd better be telling me the truth, or else," he sneered and then let go. Dawn fell to the ground and she coughed vigorously, tears spilling onto her cheeks.

When Dawn looked up, Paul was already gone.

* * *

The following week, Ash was by his lockers when he noticed Paul and Dawn talking a few feet away from him. He couldn't really hear the conversation, but the look on Dawn's face was more than enough to tell him that it wasn't a good conversation.

He noticed Paul walking away, and Dawn turned around. Ash smiled as Dawn began to near him but instead, she walked past him and continued walking forward.

Ash scrunched his eyebrows in confusion and ran after her. "Dawn!" She continued walking, ignoring him.

But Ash had caught up to her and was now in front of her. "Dawn, why are ignoring me? Did I do something wrong?" He noticed her head was drooped down and she refused to face him. "Dawn, look at me," he pleaded.

"I can't be seen around you Ash, I'm sorry," she said, walking past him yet again but this time, Ash caught her wrist.

Dawn stopped, her eyes widening. She turned around, looking at Ash's nonchalant expression. "Let go, what are you doing?"

Ash ignored her protests. "Enough is enough, Dawn. You've suffered enough. Just end it."

Dawn pulled her hand back. "Ash, stop. I told you before, this is none of your business. Let me handle this on my own."

Ash scoffed. "Yeah you're handling it really great," he muttered sarcastically. "How long are you going to bear the pain, Dawn? And I don't care what you say; I care about you a lot so it is damn hell my business!" he exclaimed. Dawn parted her lips in surprise, and she remained speechless.

"You deserve someone that will respect you. You deserve someone that will care about you. You deserve someone that will treat you like a princess."

"Where can I find someone like that?" she asked.

Ash wanted to say that she already found him; he wanted to say that she was looking at him. And hell yes, Ash would treat Dawn so much better than that ass, Paul. But it wasn't the right time. "I'm sure he's out there," he said instead.

Dawn said nothing and was presented with a hand. She looked at Ash expectantly. "Let's end this, Dawn. Are you with me?"

"I'm scared," she admitted.

Ash frowned. "I know. But trust me. Things will be different once Paul is out of your life."

"Different...between us?"

Ash found himself nodding. "Only if you're with me."

Dawn glanced at Ash's hand. Was it worth it? She'd be taking a huge risk, but Ash was right. If she didn't act now, she'd only continue to suffer. She was tired of all the pain. She wanted to smile again; and she'd always smile genuinely with Ash.

Exhaling, Dawn laced her fingers with Ash's, their fingers interlocking together.

* * *

The two were at the principal's office. Dawn was shaking her leg; she never thought this would happen. She never thought she'd be brave enough to talk to the principal about Paul. She was taking shaky breaths.

"Dawn, relax," Ash told her, placing a palm on her shoulder. A tear escaped her eye. "It's going to be okay."

"Sorry for keeping you two waiting," Ms Angela said as she entered the office, sitting down on her revolving chair. What can I help you with?"

Ash gestured for Dawn to speak, and she took a breath before she started to speak. "Um, I'm being abused by my boyfriend," she admitted shakily.

Ms Angela raised her eyebrows. "Oh my...how long has this been happening?"

Dawn bit her lip. "A couple of months." She then proceeded to lift her top a little and show her wrists, which were still reddened. "He did this to me last week."

"Is this only physical abuse? Has he abused you in any other way? This includes verbal as well," Ms. Angela said.

Dawn nodded, remembering all the harsh words Paul called her. "Yes, he calls me the b word and sometimes a whore..." she admitted. "And he threatened me saying that he'd kill me if I ever told anybody."

Ash rubbed his thumb against her palm affectionately. She was suffering for more than enough. He hoped this would be over soon.

Ms. Angela nodded. "Don't be scared, Dawn. Now that you've told me everything, you'll be in safe hands. My husband is a police officer, so you'll be rest assured when I say that your boyfriend will be expelled and put behind bars."

Dawn widened her eyes. She'd be free from Paul? She'd never see him again? "Are you serious?" she asked.

"Yes, Dawn. You'll be relieved. Now what was your boyfriend's name?"

Dawn looked at her with gratitude. "Paul Shinji."

She nodded. "Okay. I assure you that you won't see him ever again. I'm really glad that you decided to come up to me and report Paul. It was the right thing to do, and it takes a really courageous move to do that."

Dawn wanted to cry in joy. "Thank you. You have no idea how grateful I am," she chocked back a sob. It was a big relief knowing that her days of suffering and pain were soon going to end. It was as if a big burden had been lifted from her shoulders.

Her genuine, radiant smile had returned.

* * *

"Students, this school does not tolerate abuse. Physical abuse is a serious case and can be scary, but remember: no matter how scared you are, just know that if you don't act fast, nothing will change. Don't think you're alone. There are people out there; there are so many things you can do to relieve yourself. Talk to someone or call someone. Someone out there _will_ help. I hope you guys take Paul's example as a lesson. He was reported to be physically and verbally assaulting a student here. And she was scared as well. But she managed to find some help and grew brave enough to report him to me. And now, just like I promised, Paul is behind bars."

Dawn listened to the afternoon announcements, absolutely relieved. She smiled at the thought of being liberated.

She was free.

She wanted to jump in joy.

She ran down the hallway and out of the school when she saw the person she'd been looking for. Ash looked up at her as she came up running with a bright smile on her face. She approached him finally and hugged him so tightly that he stepped back a few feet. Ash blinked, but he quickly reciprocated, wrapping his arms around her and burying his head into her dark blue hair.

"Oh, Ash, thank you, thank you, thank you and thank you!" she squealed cheerfully. Ash smiled hearing her quirky laugh. "I'm so glad that I was chosen to be your English partner, and I'm even more happy now that Paul is away from me."

They released, and Ash cupped Dawn's face with both of his hands. "See? I told you it'd be okay." Dawn smiled in response.

"You did, didn't you?"

He grinned. "Yuperdoodles," he said, and Dawn laughed. Suddenly, Ash changed his expression and let go of her face. His right hand then interlocked with Dawn's. "Look, Dawn, I know you just got out of a rocky relationship but I'm here to tell you that not all guys are the same. There are guys out there that are genuine, and that can treat you in a better way; better than jerks like Paul."

"Where are you going with this?" she asked.

"I may not necessarily believe in love; in fact I don't even know what love is. But I sure as hell know that when I look at you, I feel _something._ I don't know if it's love, but I do know that my heart goes on overdrive seeing you smile," Ash said, and Dawn wanted to cry out of joy. "I'm not going to be cheesy and promise you the moon or stars, but I can promise that I'll make you forget what Paul did to you. I'll be the guy that will never let you down."

Dawn couldn't help but escape a few tears; she couldn't believe how loving and genuine Ash was being right now. This was the guy she was looking for. She felt Ash's hand linger on her waist, and she looked into Ash's eyes, giving him a look of approval. Ash then leaned down and gently brushed his lips against Dawn's. Immediately, heat coursed through Dawn's body and she had never felt so satisfied with just a simple touch, something she rarely felt with Paul. Dawn reciprocated, kissing back and placing a hand on Ash's shoulder.

His hand tightened around her tiny waist, and he kissed her harder; probably to convey how much she meant to him and how much he had been holding back. He felt at ease now that he could willingly show his affection, and he smiled at the thought. Dawn released to catch her breath, but Ash took her arm and kissed her wrist before he kissed her right cheek. Dawn closed her eyes, smiling. It was as if he was trying to kiss the pain away.

"Hey, Ash...you were right."

"About what?" he smiled.

"There are guys out there that can treat me better. He was right in front of me all along."

* * *

 **Sooooo how was my first pearlshipping one shot? I know it could use some work but yah this was the best I could do :3 also i just wanna let you guys know that abuse is seriously not cool, and if you are a victim, pls just don't sit there, do something about it. There are people that can help you and this goes to people being witnesses as well. HELP THAT PERSON OUT! It's going to be hard but it will be okay eventually**

 **Edit: apparently i can't put in the lyrics in this story so that's why it's removed to prevent my account from being shut down.**

 **Also fun fact: some of Dawn's characteristics in the story are my characteristics. I say 'yuperdoodles' XD and I love to eat hahaha.**

 **If ya'll liked my little one shot then pls review and tell me how I did :D If you hate it well too bad cuz I liked it and nothing is gonna change my opinion heuehuehuehue XD**

 **Bye peeps!**

 **~SamanthaPearlzz**


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